Future Concetp of Wheel just Think

The NASA Tech Briefs Create the Future Design Contest.The 2008 competition is open until October 17.German student Caspar Schmitz has designed a castor with an additional axis that could see your shopping trolleys glide over bumps instead of grinding to an abrupt halt.

Schmitz second entry is a wheelchair design based on the concept of a Transformable Wheel. The idea is that by using a strong but flexible plastic rim supported by a hinged bracket assembly rather than conventional spokes, the round wheel could be transformed into an ellipsoid shape by applying pressure on the handle bar and enable easier navigation of obstacles. We're not sure how this one would work in practice but its a great piece of lateral thinking.